Posterior left bundle branch engagement

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods may monitor electrical activity of a patient&#39;s heart using electrodes during delivery of cardiac therapy and determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the monitored electrical activity. The systems and methods may adjust the cardiac therapy based on the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement.

The disclosure herein relates to systems and methods for use in determining posterior left bundle branch engagement by cardiac therapy.

Implantable medical devices (IMDs), such as implantable pacemakers, cardioverters, defibrillators, or pacemaker-cardioverter-defibrillators, provide therapeutic electrical stimulation to the heart. IMDs may provide pacing to address bradycardia, or pacing or shocks in order to terminate tachyarrhythmia, such as tachycardia or fibrillation. In some cases, the medical device may sense intrinsic depolarizations of the heart, detect arrhythmia based on the intrinsic depolarizations (or absence thereof), and control delivery of electrical stimulation to the heart if arrhythmia is detected based on the intrinsic depolarizations.

IMDs may also provide cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), which is a form of pacing. CRT involves the delivery of pacing to the left ventricle, or both the left and right ventricles. The timing and location of the delivery of pacing pulses to the ventricle(s) may be selected to improve the coordination and efficiency of ventricular contraction.

Systems for implanting medical devices may include workstations or other equipment in addition to the implantable medical device itself. In some cases, these other pieces of equipment assist the physician or other technician with placing the intracardiac leads at particular locations on or in the heart. In some cases, the equipment provides information to the physician about the electrical activity of the heart and the location of the intracardiac lead.

SUMMARY

The illustrative systems and methods described herein may be configured to assist a user (e.g., a physician) in evaluating a patient's posterior left bundle branch engagement (e.g., whether or not the patient's posterior left bundle branch is engaged) by cardiac therapy (e.g., cardiac conduction system pacing therapy, traditional, non-conduction system pacing therapy, etc.). More specifically, for example, the illustrative systems and methods may be used to determine the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on monitored electrical activity. The monitored electrical activity may be used to generate, or compute, electrical heterogeneity information that is directed towards posterior left bundle branch engagement. Further, the illustrative systems and methods described herein may be configured to assist a user (e.g., a physician) in adjusting cardiac therapy based on evaluation of engagement of the patient's posterior left bundle branch by the cardiac therapy.

In one or more embodiments, the systems and methods may be described as being noninvasive. For example, in some embodiments, the systems and methods may not need, or include, implantable devices such as leads, probes, sensors, catheters, implantable electrodes, etc. to monitor, or acquire, electrical activity (e.g., a plurality of cardiac signals) from tissue of the patient for use in evaluating engagement of the patient's posterior left bundle branch by cardiac therapy. Instead, the systems and methods may use electrical measurements taken noninvasively using, e.g., a plurality of external electrodes attached to the skin of a patient about the patient's torso. In one or more embodiments, the systems and methods may be described as being invasive in that such systems and methods may utilize implantable electrodes to monitor electrical activity for using in evaluating engagement of the patient's posterior left bundle branch by cardiac therapy. Additionally, it is be understood that both invasive and non-invasive apparatus and processes may be used at the same time or simultaneously in some embodiments.

It may be described that the present disclosure provides qualitative and quantitative feedback on engagement of the posterior left bundle when delivering cardiac therapy such as, e.g., VfA pacing therapy. One of the objectives of VfA pacing therapy may be to engage the posterior left bundle for rapid propagation of electrical activation. Illustrative systems and methods described herein may include electrode apparatus (e.g., “ECG belt”) that may be used as a surface mapping tool that helps visualize electrical activation on “body surface” activation maps.

The present disclosure provides various metrics disclosed that would be reflective of the degree of engagement of posterior fascicle during cardiac therapy such as, e.g., VfA pacing, left bundle branch (LBB) pacing, etc. Accordingly pacing electrode position, pacing thresholds of complete engagement of posterior fascicle, and other pacing parameters (e.g., pacing vectors, pacing amplitude, pacing pulse length, timing delays such as A-V delay and V-V delay, etc.) may be adjusted to get, or provide, “complete” or maximum engagement of left posterior bundle from cardiac pacing therapy pacing (e.g., VfA pacing with a leadless or leaded device). These pacing thresholds and parameters may be different from the pacing thresholds and parameters using for traditional myocardial tissue capture.

The present disclosure describes systems and methods that provide more efficient resynchronization (e.g., using VfA pacing, LBB pacing, left ventricular septal basal pacing, etc.) based on engagement of posterior fascicle or posterior LBB, which if done successfully should result in complete preactivation of posterior surface of the body as reflected on the surrogate activation time maps. Further, the new metrics disclosed herein may also be used and tied to the concept of titration of pacing to maximize engagement of left posterior bundle.

An illustrative metric of electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) may be an average activation time of posterior electrodes (e.g., a subset of electrodes placed in proximity with the posterior of the patient such as the posterior torso of the patient), which may be referred to as the mean posterior activation time (MPAT). Another illustrative metric of EHI may be the percentage of posterior electrodes activating earlier than a certain time threshold (e.g., 35 milliseconds), which may be referred to as a percentage of early posterior activation (PEPA), indicating a degree of spread of early activation on the posterior aspect of the body.

Such illustrative metrics of EHI may be used to reflect the degree of engagement of posterior bundle during cardiac therapy such as, e.g., VfA pacing. For example, a MPAT that is less than or equal to 30 milliseconds (ms) and a PEPA that is greater than or equal to 75% may be reflective of complete posterior bundle engagement. Further, a MPAT that is between 30 ms and 50 ms and a PEP that is between 50% and 75% may be reflective of intermediate posterior bundle engagement. Still further, any other values of MPAT and PEPA may be reflective of insufficient posterior bundle engagement.

The illustrative systems and methods may utilize the illustrative metrics of EHI to adjust one or more cardiac therapy parameters (e.g., pacing parameters such as pacing output, pacing vector, site of pacing, etc.). Thus, one or more cardiac therapy parameters may be “tuned” with a goal towards complete posterior bundle engagement indicated by a lower value of MPAT and a higher value of PEPA. Further, cardiac therapy parameters may be set to maximize the extent of engagement of posterior left bundle. An illustrative cardiac therapy system or device may store such cardiac therapy parameters in memory and accordingly set safety margins above basic tissue capture thresholds for the cardiac therapy delivered thereby.

Further, the illustrative systems and methods may qualitatively indicate the degree of engagement may in terms of colors on the posterior maps coded with shades of red for early and green/blue for late activation. Complete red on posterior map of the belt may imply complete engagement. Lesser extent of red on posterior map corresponds to lesser extent of engagement of posterior bundle.

Successful resynchronization using, e.g., VfA pacing, may be partly dependent on degree of engagement of posterior left bundle that results in rapid propagation of activation in posterior/posterolateral part of left ventricle. The illustrative systems and methods described herein provide ways to assess the degree of engagement of posterior left bundle non-invasively with electrode apparatus, which may assist in providing effective cardiac therapy.

One illustrative system may include electrode apparatus comprising a plurality of posterior electrodes to monitor electrical activity from a patient's posterior and computing apparatus comprising processing circuitry and coupled to the electrode apparatus. The computing apparatus may be configured to monitor electrical activity of the patient's heart using the plurality of posterior electrodes during delivery of cardiac therapy, generate electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy, and determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI.

One illustrative method may include monitoring electrical activity of the patient's heart using a plurality of posterior electrodes from a patient's posterior during delivery of cardiac therapy, generating electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy, and determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI.

One illustrative system may include electrode apparatus comprising a plurality of posterior electrodes to monitor electrical activity from a patient's posterior and computing apparatus comprising processing circuitry and coupled to the electrode apparatus. The computing apparatus configured to monitor electrical activity of the patient's heart using the plurality of posterior electrodes during delivery of cardiac pacing therapy, determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the monitored electrical activity, and adjust one or more pacing settings of the cardiac pacing therapy based on the determined degree of left bunch branch engagement.

The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or every implementation of the present disclosure. A more complete understanding will become apparent and appreciated by referring to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative system including electrode apparatus, display apparatus, and computing apparatus.

FIGS. 2-3 are diagrams of illustrative external electrode apparatus for measuring torso-surface potentials.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an illustrative method of evaluation of engagement of posterior left bundle branch by cardiac therapy and adjustment of such cardiac therapy.

FIG. 5A depicts illustrative anterior and posterior electrical activation maps depicting sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

FIG. 5B depicts illustrative anterior and posterior electrical activation maps depicting partial posterior left bundle branch engagement.

FIG. 5C depicts illustrative anterior and posterior electrical activation maps depicting insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

FIG. 6A depicts illustrative anterior and posterior electrical activation maps including electrode representations and depicting sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

FIG. 6B depicts illustrative anterior and posterior electrical activation maps including electrode representations and depicting partial posterior left bundle branch engagement.

FIG. 6C depicts illustrative anterior and posterior electrical activation maps including electrode representations and depicting insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of an illustrative cardiac therapy system including an intracardiac medical device implanted in a patient's heart and a separate medical device positioned outside of the patient's heart.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged conceptual diagram of the intracardiac medical device of FIG. 7 and anatomical structures of the patient's heart.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram of a map of a patient's heart in a standard 17 segment view of the left ventricle showing various electrode implantation locations for use with the illustrative systems and devices described herein.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of illustrative circuitry that may be enclosed within the housing of the medical devices of FIGS. 7-8, for example, to provide the functionality and therapy described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying figures of the drawing which form a part hereof, and in which are shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments which may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and structural changes may be made without departing from (e.g., still falling within) the scope of the disclosure presented hereby.

Illustrative systems and methods shall be described with reference to FIGS. 1-10. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that elements or processes from one embodiment may be used in combination with elements or processes of the other embodiments, and that the possible embodiments of such systems, methods, and devices using combinations of features set forth herein is not limited to the specific embodiments shown in the Figures and/or described herein. Further, it will be recognized that the embodiments described herein may include many elements that are not necessarily shown to scale. Still further, it will be recognized that timing of the processes and the size and shape of various elements herein may be modified but still fall within the scope of the present disclosure, although certain timings, one or more shapes and/or sizes, or types of elements, may be advantageous over others.

Various illustrative systems, methods, and graphical user interfaces may be configured to use electrode apparatus including external electrodes, display apparatus, and computing apparatus to noninvasively assist a user (e.g., a physician) in the evaluation of posterior left bundle branch engagement by cardiac therapy and/or the configuration (e.g., optimization) of the cardiac therapy based on the evaluation. An illustrative system 100 including electrode apparatus 110, computing apparatus 140, and a remote computing device 160 is depicted in FIG. 1.

The electrode apparatus 110 as shown includes a plurality of electrodes incorporated, or included, within a band wrapped around the chest, or torso, of a patient 114. The electrode apparatus 110 is operatively coupled to the computing apparatus 140 (e.g., through one or wired electrical connections, wirelessly, etc.) to provide electrical signals from each of the electrodes to the computing apparatus 140 for analysis, evaluation, etc. Illustrative electrode apparatus may be described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,320,446 entitled “Bioelectric Sensor Device and Methods” filed Mar. 27, 2014 and issued on Mar. 26, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Further, illustrative electrode apparatus 110 will be described in more detail in reference to FIGS. 2-3.

The computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may each include display apparatus 130, 170, respectively, that may be configured to display data such as, e.g., electrical signals (e.g., electrocardiogram data), electrical activation times, electrical heterogeneity information, etc. For example, one cardiac cycle, or one heartbeat, of a plurality of cardiac cycles, or heartbeats, represented by the electrical signals collected or monitored by the electrode apparatus 110 may be analyzed and evaluated for one or more metrics including activation times and electrical heterogeneity information that may be pertinent to the assessment and evaluation of posterior left bundle branch engagement. More specifically, for example, the QRS complex of a single cardiac cycle may be evaluated for one or more metrics such as, e.g., QRS onset, QRS offset, QRS peak, various electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) such as electrical activation times, left ventricular or thoracic standard deviation of electrical activation times (LVED), standard deviation of activation times (SDAT), average left ventricular or thoracic surrogate electrical activation times (LVAT), and referenced to earliest activation time, QRS duration (e.g., interval between QRS onset to QRS offset), difference between average left surrogate and average right surrogate activation times, relative or absolute QRS morphology, differences between a higher percentile and a lower percentile of activation times (higher percentile may be 90%, 80%, 75%, 70%, etc. and lower percentile may be 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%, etc.), other statistical measures of central tendency (e.g., median or mode), dispersion (e.g., mean deviation, standard deviation, variance, interquartile deviations, range), etc. Further, each of the one or more metrics may be location specific. For example, some metrics may be computed from signals recorded, or monitored, from electrodes positioned about a selected area of the patient such as, e.g., the left side of the patient, the right side of the patient, etc.

In at least one embodiment, one or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be a server, a personal computer, or a tablet computer. The computing apparatus 140 may be configured to receive input from input apparatus 142 (e.g., a keyboard) and transmit output to the display apparatus 130, and the remote computing device 160 may be configured to receive input from input apparatus 162 (e.g., a touchscreen) and transmit output to the display apparatus 170. One or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may include data storage that may allow for access to processing programs or routines and/or one or more other types of data, e.g., for analyzing a plurality of electrical signals captured by the electrode apparatus 110, for determining EHI, for determining QRS onsets, QRS offsets, medians, modes, averages, peaks or maximum values, valleys or minimum values, for determining electrical activation times, for evaluating posterior left bundle branch engagement by cardiac therapy, for determining whether the patient has left or right ventricular delays or blocks, for determining whether one or more adjustments to pacing settings of cardiac therapy may increase posterior left bundle branch engagement, for driving a graphical user interface configured to noninvasively assist a user in configuring one or more pacing parameters, or settings, such as, e.g., pacing rate, ventricular pacing rate, A-V interval, V-V interval, pacing pulse width, pacing vector, multipoint pacing vector (e.g., left ventricular vector quad lead), pacing voltage, pacing configuration (e.g., biventricular pacing, right ventricle only pacing, left ventricle only pacing, etc.), and arrhythmia detection and treatment, rate adaptive settings and performance, etc.

The computing apparatus 140 may be operatively coupled to the input apparatus 142 and the display apparatus 130 to, e.g., transmit data to and from each of the input apparatus 142 and the display apparatus 130, and the remote computing device 160 may be operatively coupled to the input apparatus 162 and the display apparatus 170 to, e.g., transmit data to and from each of the input apparatus 162 and the display apparatus 170. For example, the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be electrically coupled to the input apparatus 142, 162 and the display apparatus 130, 170 using, e.g., analog electrical connections, digital electrical connections, wireless connections, bus-based connections, network-based connections, internet-based connections, etc. As described further herein, a user may provide input to the input apparatus 142, 162 to view and/or select one or more pieces of cardiac therapy configuration information, posterior left bundle branch engagement information (e.g., degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement, indication of whether posterior left bundle branch engagement is sufficiently, partially, or insufficiently been engaged, by cardiac therapy, etc.), and electrical heterogeneity information.

Although as depicted the input apparatus 142 is a keyboard and the input apparatus 162 is a touchscreen, it is to be understood that the input apparatus 142, 162 may include any apparatus capable of providing input to the computing apparatus 140 and the computing device 160 to perform the functionality, methods, and/or logic described herein. For example, the input apparatus 142, 162 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touchscreen (e.g., capacitive touchscreen, a resistive touchscreen, a multi-touch touchscreen, etc.), etc. Likewise, the display apparatus 130, 170 may include any apparatus capable of displaying information to a user, such as a graphical user interface 132, 172 including electrode status information, graphical maps of electrical activation, a plurality of signals for the external electrodes over one or more heartbeats, QRS complexes, various cardiac therapy scenario selection regions, various rankings of cardiac therapy scenarios, various pacing parameters, electrical heterogeneity information (EHI), textual instructions, graphical depictions of anatomy of a human heart, images or graphical depictions of the patient's heart, graphical depictions of locations of one or more electrodes, graphical depictions of a human torso, images or graphical depictions of the patient's torso, graphical depictions or actual images of implanted electrodes and/or leads, etc. Further, the display apparatus 130, 170 may include a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode screen, a touchscreen, a cathode ray tube display, etc.

It is to be understood that the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be operatively coupled to each other in a plurality of different ways so as to perform, or execute, the functionality described herein. For example, in the embodiment depicted, the computing device 140 may be wireless operably coupled to the remote computing device 160 as depicted by the wireless signal lines emanating therebetween. Additionally, as opposed to wireless connections, one or more of the computing apparatus 140 and the remoting computing device 160 may be operably coupled through one or wired electrical connections.

The processing programs or routines stored and/or executed by the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may include programs or routines for computational mathematics, matrix mathematics, decomposition algorithms, compression algorithms (e.g., data compression algorithms), calibration algorithms, image construction algorithms, signal processing algorithms (e.g., various filtering algorithms, Fourier transforms, fast Fourier transforms, etc.), standardization algorithms, comparison algorithms, vector mathematics, or any other processing used to implement one or more illustrative methods and/or processes described herein. Data stored and/or used by the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may include, for example, electrical signal/waveform data from the electrode apparatus 110 (e.g., a plurality of QRS complexes), electrical activation times from the electrode apparatus 110, cardiac sound/signal/waveform data from acoustic sensors, graphics (e.g., graphical elements, icons, buttons, windows, dialogs, pull-down menus, graphic areas, graphic regions, 3D graphics, etc.), graphical user interfaces, results from one or more processing programs or routines employed according to the disclosure herein (e.g., electrical signals, electrical heterogeneity information, etc.), or any other data that may be used for executing, or performing, the one and/or more processes or methods described herein.

In one or more embodiments, the illustrative systems, methods, and interfaces may be implemented using one or more computer programs executed on programmable computers, such as computers that include, for example, processing capabilities, data storage (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), input devices, and output devices. Program code and/or logic described herein may be applied to input data to perform the functionality described herein and generate desired output information. The output information may be applied as input to one or more other devices and/or methods as described herein or as would be applied in a known fashion.

The one or more programs used to implement the systems, methods, and/or interfaces described herein may be provided using any programmable language, e.g., a high-level procedural and/or object orientated programming language that is suitable for communicating with a computer system. Any such programs may, for example, be stored on any suitable device, e.g., a storage media, that is readable by a general or special purpose program running on a computer system (e.g., including processing apparatus) for configuring and operating the computer system when the suitable device is read for performing the procedures described herein. In other words, at least in one embodiment, the illustrative systems, methods, and interfaces may be implemented using a computer readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium so configured causes the computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform functions described herein. Further, in at least one embodiment, the illustrative systems, methods, and interfaces may be described as being implemented by logic (e.g., object code) encoded in one or more non-transitory media that includes code for execution and, when executed by a processor or processing circuitry, is operable to perform operations such as the methods, processes, and/or functionality described herein.

The computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be, for example, any fixed or mobile computer system (e.g., a controller, a microcontroller, a personal computer, minicomputer, tablet computer, etc.). The exact configurations of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 are not limiting, and essentially any device capable of providing suitable computing capabilities and control capabilities (e.g., signal analysis, mathematical functions such as medians, modes, averages, maximum value determination, minimum value determination, slope determination, minimum slope determination, maximum slope determination, graphics processing, etc.) may be used. As described herein, a digital file may be any medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory, a CD-ROM, a punch card, magnetic recordable tape, etc.) containing digital bits (e.g., encoded in binary, trinary, etc.) that may be readable and/or writable by the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 described herein. Also, as described herein, a file in user-readable format may be any representation of data (e.g., ASCII text, binary numbers, hexadecimal numbers, decimal numbers, graphically, etc.) presentable on any medium (e.g., paper, a display, etc.) readable and/or understandable by a user.

In view of the above, it will be readily apparent that the functionality as described in one or more embodiments according to the present disclosure may be implemented in any manner as would be known to one skilled in the art. As such, the computer language, the computer system, or any other software/hardware which is to be used to implement the processes described herein shall not be limiting on the scope of the systems, processes, or programs (e.g., the functionality provided by such systems, processes, or programs) described herein.

The illustrative electrode apparatus 110 may be configured to measure body-surface potentials of a patient 114 and, more particularly, torso-surface potentials of a patient 114. As shown in FIG. 2, the illustrative electrode apparatus 110 may include a set, or array, of external electrodes 112, a strap 113, and interface/amplifier circuitry 116. The electrodes 112 may be attached, or coupled, to the strap 113 and the strap 113 may be configured to be wrapped around the torso of a patient 114 such that the electrodes 112 surround the patient's heart. As further illustrated, the electrodes 112 may be positioned around the circumference of a patient 114, including the posterior, lateral, posterolateral, anterolateral, and anterior locations of the torso of a patient 114.

The illustrative electrode apparatus 110 may be further configured to measure, or monitor, sounds from the patient 114 (e.g., heart sounds from the torso of the patient). As shown in FIG. 2, the illustrative electrode apparatus 110 may include a set, or array, of acoustic sensors 120 attached, or coupled, to the strap 113. The strap 113 may be configured to be wrapped around the torso of a patient 114 such that the acoustic sensors 120 surround the patient's heart. As further illustrated, the acoustic sensors 120 may be positioned around the circumference of a patient 114, including the posterior, lateral, posterolateral, anterolateral, and anterior locations of the torso of a patient 114.

Further, the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be electrically connected to interface/amplifier circuitry 116 via wired connection 118. The interface/amplifier circuitry 116 may be configured to amplify the signals from the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 and provide the signals to one or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160. Other illustrative systems may use a wireless connection to transmit the signals sensed by electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 to the interface/amplifier circuitry 116 and, in turn, to one or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160, e.g., as channels of data. In one or more embodiments, the interface/amplifier circuitry 116 may be electrically coupled to one or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 using, e.g., analog electrical connections, digital electrical connections, wireless connections, bus-based connections, network-based connections, internet-based connections, etc.

Although in the example of FIG. 2 the electrode apparatus 110 includes a strap 113, in other examples any of a variety of mechanisms, e.g., tape or adhesives, may be employed to aid in the spacing and placement of electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120. In some examples, the strap 113 may include an elastic band, strip of tape, or cloth. Further, in some examples, the strap 113 may be part of, or integrated with, a piece of clothing such as, e.g., a t-shirt. In other examples, the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be placed individually on the torso of a patient 114. Further, in other examples, one or both of the electrodes 112 (e.g., arranged in an array) and the acoustic sensors 120 (e.g., also arranged in an array) may be part of, or located within, patches, vests, and/or other manners of securing the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 to the torso of the patient 114. Still further, in other examples, one or both of the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be part of, or located within, two sections of material or two patches. One of the two patches may be located on the anterior side of the torso of the patient 114 (to, e.g., monitor electrical signals representative of the anterior side of the patient's heart, measure surrogate cardiac electrical activation times representative of the anterior side of the patient's heart, monitor or measure sounds of the anterior side of the patient, etc.) and the other patch may be located on the posterior side of the torso of the patient 114 (to, e.g., monitor electrical signals representative of the posterior side of the patient's heart, measure surrogate cardiac electrical activation times representative of the posterior side of the patient's heart, monitor or measure sounds of the posterior side of the patient, etc.). And still further, in other examples, one or both of the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be arranged in a top row and bottom row that extend from the anterior side of the patient 114 across the left side of the patient 114 to the posterior side of the patient 114. Yet still further, in other examples, one or both of the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be arranged in a curve around the armpit area and may have an electrode/sensor-density that is less dense on the right thorax that the other remaining areas.

The electrodes 112 may be configured to surround the heart of the patient 114 and record, or monitor, the electrical signals associated with the depolarization and repolarization of the heart after the signals have propagated through the torso of a patient 114. Each of the electrodes 112 may be used in a unipolar configuration to sense the torso-surface potentials that reflect the cardiac signals. The interface/amplifier circuitry 116 may also be coupled to a return or indifferent electrode (not shown) that may be used in combination with each electrode 112 for unipolar sensing.

In some examples, there may be about 12 to about 50 electrodes 112 and about 12 to about 50 acoustic sensors 120 spatially distributed around the torso of a patient. Other configurations may have more or fewer electrodes 112 and more or fewer acoustic sensors 120. It is to be understood that the electrodes 112 and acoustic sensors 120 may not be arranged or distributed in an array extending all the way around or completely around the patient 114. Instead, the electrodes 112 and acoustic sensors 120 may be arranged in an array that extends only part of the way or partially around the patient 114. For example, the electrodes 112 and acoustic sensors 120 may be distributed on the anterior, posterior, and left sides of the patient with less or no electrodes and acoustic sensors proximate the right side (including posterior and anterior regions of the right side of the patient).

One or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may record and analyze the torso-surface potential signals sensed by electrodes 112 and the sound signals sensed by the acoustic sensors 120, which are amplified/conditioned by the interface/amplifier circuitry 116. Further, one or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be configured to analyze the electrical signals from the electrodes 112 to provide electrocardiogram (ECG) signals, information such as EHI, or data from the patient's heart as will be further described herein. Still further, one or both of the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be configured to analyze the electrical signals from the acoustic sensors 120 to provide sound signals, information, or data from the patient's body and/or devices implanted therein (such as a left ventricular assist device).

Additionally, the computing apparatus 140 and the remote computing device 160 may be configured to provide graphical user interfaces 132, 172 depicting various information related to the electrode apparatus 110 and the data gathered, or sensed, using the electrode apparatus 110. For example, the graphical user interfaces 132, 172 may depict electrical activation maps and EHI obtained using the electrode apparatus 110. For example, the graphical user interfaces 132, 172 may depict ECGs including QRS complexes obtained using the electrode apparatus 110 and sound data including sound waves obtained using the acoustic sensors 120 as well as other information related thereto. Illustrative systems and methods may noninvasively use the electrical information collected using the electrode apparatus 110 and the sound information collected using the acoustic sensors 120 to evaluate a patient's cardiac health and to evaluate and configure cardiac therapy being delivered to the patient. More specifically, the illustrative systems and methods may noninvasively use the electrical information collected using the electrode apparatus 110 to determine whether the patient's posterior left bundle branch has been engaged by cardiac therapy, and for example, to what degree the patient's posterior left bundle branch has been engaged.

Further, the electrode apparatus 110 may further include reference electrodes and/or drive electrodes to be, e.g. positioned about the lower torso of the patient 114, that may be further used by the system 100. For example, the electrode apparatus 110 may include three reference electrodes, and the signals from the three reference electrodes may be combined to provide a reference signal. Further, the electrode apparatus 110 may use three caudal reference electrodes (e.g., instead of standard reference electrodes used in a Wilson Central Terminal) to get a “true” unipolar signal with less noise from averaging three caudally located reference signals.

FIG. 3 illustrates another illustrative electrode apparatus 110 that includes a plurality of electrodes 112 configured to surround the heart of the patient 114 and record, or monitor, the electrical signals associated with the depolarization and repolarization of the heart after the signals have propagated through the torso of the patient 114 and a plurality of acoustic sensors 120 configured to surround the heart of the patient 114 and record, or monitor, the sound signals associated with the heart after the signals have propagated through the torso of the patient 114. The electrode apparatus 110 may include a vest 114 upon which the plurality of electrodes 112 and the plurality of acoustic sensors 120 may be attached, or to which the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be coupled. In at least one embodiment, the plurality, or array, of electrodes 112 may be used to collect electrical information such as, e.g., surrogate electrical activation times. Similar to the electrode apparatus 110 of FIG. 2, the electrode apparatus 110 of FIG. 3 may include interface/amplifier circuitry 116 electrically coupled to each of the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 through a wired connection 118 and be configured to transmit signals from the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 to computing apparatus 140. As illustrated, the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 may be distributed over the torso of a patient 114, including, for example, the posterior, lateral, posterolateral, anterolateral, and anterior locations of the torso of a patient 114.

The vest 114 may be formed of fabric with the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 attached to the fabric. The vest 114 may be configured to maintain the position and spacing of electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 on the torso of the patient 114. Further, the vest 114 may be marked to assist in determining the location of the electrodes 112 and the acoustic sensors 120 on the surface of the torso of the patient 114. In some examples, there may be about 25 to about 256 electrodes 112 and about 25 to about 256 acoustic sensors 120 distributed around the torso of the patient 114, though other configurations may have more or fewer electrodes 112 and more or fewer acoustic sensors 120.

The illustrative systems and methods described herein may be used to provide noninvasive assistance to a user in the evaluation and assessment of posterior left bundle branch engagement by cardiac therapy such as VfA cardiac pacing, left ventricular septal-basal cardiac pacing, etc. Further, the illustrative systems and methods described herein may be used in the configuration of cardiac therapy being presently-delivered to the patient (e.g., by an implantable medical device such as a VfA pacing device). For example, the illustrative systems and methods may be used to assist a user in the improvement of posterior left bundle branch activation by providing guidance to a user in adjusting cardiac therapy and/or automatically adjusting the cardiac therapy.

An illustrative method 200 of evaluation of posterior left bundle branch engagement and adjustment of cardiac therapy is depicted in FIG. 4. Generally, it may be described that the illustrative method 200 may be used to analyze external electrical activity (e.g., from the posterior torso region of the patient) during delivering of cardiac pacing therapy and use such electrical activity to determine whether or not, and further, to what degree, the cardiac therapy is resulting in posterior left bundle branch engagement.

As shown, the method 200 may include monitoring electrical activity 202. In one embodiment, the electrical activity may be measured externally from the patient. In other words, the electrical activity may be measured from tissue outside the patient's body (e.g., skin). For example, the method 200 may include monitoring, or measuring, electrical activity using a plurality of external electrodes such as, e.g., shown and described with respect to FIGS. 1-3. In one embodiment, the plurality of external electrodes may be part, or incorporated into, a vest or band that is located about a patient's torso. More specifically, the plurality of electrodes may be described as being external surface electrodes positioned in an array configured to be located proximate the skin of the torso of a patient. It may be described that when using a plurality of external electrodes, the monitoring process 202 may provide a plurality electrocardiograms (ECGs), signals representative of the depolarization and repolarization of the patient's heart, and/or a plurality of activation times. More specifically, the plurality of ECGs may, in turn, be used to generate surrogate activation times representative of the depolarization of the heart.

The electrical activity may be monitored 202 from a posterior subset of electrodes positioned about, or in proximity to, the posterior of the torso of the patient. The electrical activity, or electrical signals, captured from the posterior subset of electrodes may be representative of one or more posterior areas of the patient's heart such as the posterior fascicle or posterior left bundle branch. In one example, the posterior subset of electrodes may be positioned on the posterior and posterolateral regions of the patient's torso.

The method 200 may include delivery of cardiac therapy 204 such as cardiac pacing therapy using an implantable or non-implantable device intended to pace or deliver electrical paces to one or more areas or regions of the patient's heart. The cardiac pacing therapy may include, but not be limited to, ventricle from atrium (VfA) pacing therapy, left ventricular basal-septal pacing therapy, His bundle pacing therapy, and intraseptal left ventricular endocardial pacing therapy.

VfA pacing therapy is further described and shown herein with respect to FIGS. 7-10. The VfA pacing therapy may be configured to deliver electrical paces to one or more areas of the cardiac conduction system including, but not limited to, areas of the left bundle branches and the right bundle branches, one or more areas of the left ventricle, one or more areas of the right atrium, etc.

Another example of cardiac conduction system pacing therapy may be His bundle pacing therapy as, e.g., described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/163,132 filed Oct. 17, 2018, entitled “His Bundle and Bundle Branch Pacing Adjustment,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Still another example of cardiac conduction system pacing therapy may be intraseptal left ventricular endocardial pacing therapy as, e.g., described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,177,704 issued on Feb. 13, 2007, entitled “Pacing Method and Apparatus,” which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

During the delivery of the cardiac pacing therapy 204, the electrical activity may continue to be monitored 202, and may be used to generate electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) 206. The EHI (e.g., data) may be defined as information indicative of at least one of mechanical synchrony or dyssynchrony of the heart and/or electrical synchrony or dyssynchrony of the heart. In other words, EHI may represent a surrogate of actual mechanical and/or electrical functionality of a patient's heart. In at least one embodiment, relative changes in EHI (e.g., from baseline heterogeneity information to therapy heterogeneity information, from a first set of heterogeneity information to a second set of therapy heterogeneity information, etc.) may be used to determine a surrogate value representative of the changes in hemodynamic response (e.g., acute changes in LV pressure gradients). Left ventricular pressure may be typically monitored invasively with a pressure sensor located in the left ventricular of a patient's heart. As such, the use of EHI to determine a surrogate value representative of the left ventricular pressure may avoid invasive monitoring using a left ventricular pressure sensor.

In at least one embodiment, the EHI may include a standard deviation of ventricular activation times measured using some or all of the external electrodes, e.g., of the electrode apparatus 110 described herein with respect FIGS. 1-3. Further, local, or regional, EHI may include standard deviations and/or averages of activation times measured using electrodes located in certain anatomic areas of the torso. For example, external electrodes on the posterior side of the torso of a patient may be used to compute local, or regional, posterior EHI. Further, for example, external electrodes on the left side of the torso of a patient may be used to compute local, or regional, left EHI.

The EHI may be generated using one or more various systems and/or methods. For example, EHI may be generated using an array, or a plurality, of surface electrodes and/or imaging systems as described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2012/0283587 A1 published Nov. 8, 2012 and entitled “ASSESSING INRA-CARDIAC ACTIVATION PATTERNS AND ELECTRICAL DYSSYNCHRONY,” U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2012/0284003 A1 published Nov. 8, 2012 and entitled “ASSESSING INTRA-CARDIAC ACTIVATION PATTERNS”, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,180,428 B2 issued May 15, 2012 and entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR USE IN SELECTING CARDIAC PACING SITES,” each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

EHI may include one or more metrics or indices focused on, or directed to, surrogate activation times measured from the posterior and posterolateral regions of a patient's torso. For example, one of the metrics, or indices, of electrical heterogeneity may be a mean, or average, of surrogate posterior electrical activation times (MPAT) monitored by posterior electrodes positioned about the posterior and/or posterolateral regions of a patient's torso. In some examples, the MPAT may be calculated using the estimated cardiac activation times over the surface of a model heart. Another metric, or index, of electrical heterogeneity, or dyssynchrony, may be a percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times (PEPA) monitored by posterior electrodes positioned about the posterior and/or posterolateral regions of a patient's torso.

The MPAT and PEPA may be determined (e.g., calculated, computed, generated, produced, etc.) from electrical activity measured only by electrodes proximate the posterior side of the patient, which may be referred to as “posterior” electrodes. The posterior electrodes may be defined as any surface electrodes located proximate the posterior side of the patient's heart, which includes the body or torso regions behind of the patient's spine. In one embodiment, the posterior electrodes may include all electrodes on the posterior of the patient. In another embodiment, the posterior electrodes may include all electrodes on the posterior of the patient and positioned between the spine of the patient and the patient's left side. In still another embodiment, the posterior electrodes may be designated based on the contour of the posterior of the heart as determined using imaging apparatus (e.g., x-ray, fluoroscopy, etc.), which may be projected to various corresponding surface electrodes positioned about the torso of the patient.

The illustrative method 200 may further include determining posterior left bundle branch engagement 208 based on the generated EHI such as one or both of MPAT and PEPA. For example, the generated EHI may be analyzed to determine the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement.

In one embodiment, the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement may range from complete posterior left bundle branch engagement to insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement. Complete posterior left bundle branch engagement may be defined as all or substantially all of the posterior left bundle branch being engaged by the cardiac therapy. Sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement may be defined as an amount of the posterior left bundle branch being engaged by the cardiac therapy so to provide efficient and sufficient left ventricular functionality. Partial posterior left bundle branch engagement may be defined as only a portion of the posterior left bundle branch being engaged by the cardiac therapy so to provide partially-efficient and partially-sufficient left ventricular functionality. Insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement may be defined as only a small portion of the posterior left bundle branch being engaged by the cardiac therapy so to provide inefficient and insufficient left ventricular functionality. Thus, the method 200 may determine whether the cardiac therapy has resulted in complete posterior left bundle branch engagement, sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement, partial posterior left bundle branch engagement, or insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

In one or more embodiments, the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes (MPAT) may be used to evaluate posterior left bundle branch engagement. The MPAT may be compared against one or more thresholds or ranges to determine the degree to which the posterior left bundle branch is engaged. For example, if the MPAT is less than or equal to 30 milliseconds, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged. Further, if the MPAT is greater than 30 milliseconds and less than 50 milliseconds, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is partially engaged. Still further, for example, if the MPAT is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is insufficiently engaged. It is to be understood that such thresholds and ranges in this embodiment are only one example, and other similar thresholds and ranges are contemplated by the present disclosure.

In one or more embodiments, the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes (PEPA) may be used to evaluate posterior left bundle branch engagement. To determine whether a posterior electrode, or activation monitored by the posterior electrode, constitutes early activation, the activation time may be compared to an early-activation threshold. Electrodes measuring activation times that are less than or equal to the early-activation threshold may be indicated as electrodes having early activation while electrodes measuring activation times that are greater than the early-activation threshold may be indicated as electrodes not having early activation. The early-activation threshold may be between about 15 milliseconds and about 50 milliseconds. In one embodiment, the early-activation threshold is 35 milliseconds. In other embodiments, the early-activation threshold may be greater than or equal to about 15 milliseconds, greater than or equal to about 25 milliseconds, and greater than or equal to about 30 milliseconds and/or less than or equal to about 50 milliseconds and less than or equal to about 40 milliseconds.

Thus, the early-activation electrodes, as determined by the early-activation threshold, may be divided by the total amount of posterior electrodes to provide the PEPA, and then the PEPA may be used to determine the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement. For example, if the PEPA is greater than 75%, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged. Further, for example, if the PEPA is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 75%, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is partially engaged. Still further, for example, if the PEPA is less than 50%, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is insufficiently engaged.

Anterior and posterior electrical activation maps depicting sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement are depicted in FIG. 5A, anterior and posterior electrical activation maps depicting partial posterior left bundle branch engagement are depicted in FIG. 5B, and anterior and posterior electrical activation maps depicting insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement are depicted in FIG. 5C. Each figure includes an anterior activation map on the left, a posterior activation map on the right, and posterior EHI, namely MPAT, depicted below each posterior map.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the posterior map shows homogenous, early activation and the associated MPAT, i.e., 21 milliseconds (ms), is less than 30 ms, which indicates sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement. As shown in FIG. 5B, the posterior map shows partial early activation and the associated MPAT, i.e., 44 ms, is less than 50 ms but greater than 30 ms, which indicates partial posterior left bundle branch engagement. As shown in FIG. 5C, the posterior map shows a small amount of early activation and the associated MPAT, i.e., 80 ms, is greater than 50 ms, which indicates insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

The same anterior and posterior electrical activation maps are depicted in FIGS. 6A-6C. These maps, however, also include electrode representations 220 overlaid over the posterior electrical activation maps indicating the relative location of the corresponding electrode's position about the posterior torso region of the patient. An electrode having measured early activation less than an illustrative early-activation threshold of 35 ms is represented by a circle with crosshatching (e.g., cross-hatched fill), and an electrode having measured early activation greater than or equal to the illustrative early-activation threshold of 35 ms is represented by a circle with no crosshatching (e.g., no fill).

Further, each figure includes posterior EHI, namely PEPA, depicted below each posterior map, that, as described herein, is the percentage of electrodes having early activation. As the electrodes are graphically depicted by the electrode representations 220, the PEPA may be described as the cross-hatched electrode representations 220 divided by the total number of posterior electrodes. As shown in FIG. 6A, the posterior map shows homogenous, early activation and the associated PEPA, i.e., 78% (39 of 50 electrodes), is greater than 75%, which indicates sufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement. As shown in FIG. 5B, the posterior map shows partial early activation and the associated PEPA, i.e., 54% (27 of 50 electrodes), is less than 75% but greater than 50%, which indicates partial posterior left bundle branch engagement. As shown in FIG. 5C, the posterior map shows a small amount of early activation and the associated PEPA, i.e., 14% (7 of 50 electrodes), is less 50%, which indicates insufficient posterior left bundle branch engagement.

One or more posterior EHI metrics may be used in conjunction, or together, to determine posterior left bundle branch engagement. In one embodiment, MPAT may be used with PEPA to determine posterior left bundle branch engagement. For example, if the PEPA is greater than 75% and MPAT is less than or equal to 30 milliseconds, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged. Further, for example, if the PEPA is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 75% and MPAT is greater than 30 milliseconds and less than 50 milliseconds, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is partially engaged. Still further, for example, if either of PEPA is less than 50% and MPAT is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds, then it may be determined that the left bundle branch is insufficiently engaged.

After the illustrative method 200 has determined posterior left bundle branch engagement 208, the method 200 may further including adjusting, or modifying, the cardiac therapy 210 to, for example, increase the posterior left bundle branch engagement in an effort to provide more effective heart functionality. It is to be understood that posterior left bundle branch engagement may be only one factor to consider when adjusting cardiac therapy, and thus, the cardiac therapy adjustment described with respect to engagement of the posterior left bundle branch may be utilized in conjunction with other factors not described herein.

The method 200 may adjust the cardiac pacing therapy 208 in various ways. For example, the cardiac pacing therapy may include, or define, a plurality of different pacing settings, or parameters, that may be adjusted. The plurality of pacing settings may include, but not be limited to, pacing electrode location, pacing electrode angle, pacing amplitude or power, pacing times such as A-V delay, V-V delay, and pacing pulse length, use of one or more pacing electrodes, and/or use of one or more pacing vectors. In other words, one or more of the pacing settings may be changed (e.g., increase, decreased, moved, etc.) during adjustment of the cardiac pacing therapy 208.

After adjusting the cardiac pacing therapy 208, the method 200 may return to generating EHI 206 from the electrical activity monitored during the newly-adjusted cardiac pacing therapy. Then, the method 200 may again adjust the cardiac pacing therapy 210, generate EHI 206, determine posterior left bundle branch engagement 208, and continue looping until a plurality of different cardiac pacing therapy configurations, each having at least one different pacing parameter, have been attempted. In one embodiment, the pacing settings may be adjusted incrementally by steps or percentages in a way that “sweeps” across a range of possible parameters for each particular setting. For example, A-V delay may start at a level equal to 70% of patient's intrinsic A-V delay and may be progressively decreased in steps of about 10 ms to about 20 ms until a predefined minimum of 60 ms. Additionally, for example, the paced setting may be location or angle of the pacing electrode, and the location or angle of the pacing electrode may be adjusted incrementally by an implanter to provide a range of different locations and angles.

It may be described that processes 206, 208, 210 define a “closed-loop.” For example, processes 206, 208, 2010 may continue looping for a plurality of different pacing settings or configurations, and for each of the plurality of different pacing settings or configurations, EHI information may be generated 206 and posterior left bundle branch engagement may be determined 208. The EHI generated for the plurality of different pacing settings or configurations, and in turn, the determinization of posterior left bundle branch engagement may then be used to determine selected pacing settings of the cardiac pacing therapy 212. The selected pacing settings for the cardiac conduction therapy may, in some embodiments, be referred to as the “optimal” pacing settings as, for example, the pacing settings providing the most complete posterior left bundle branch engagement may be selected. It is to be understood, however, the pacing settings providing the most complete posterior left bundle branch engagement may not necessarily be the pacing settings that would be selected as considerations other than posterior left bundle branch engagement exist such as, for example, battery life of the device performing the therapy. Thus, the selected, or optimal, pacing settings for the cardiac pacing therapy may represent a balance of many factors including posterior left bundle branch engagement.

For example, MPAT may be utilized to determine the selected pacing settings for the cardiac pacing therapy 212. As such, a plurality of different pacing settings may be utilized 210, and an MPAT may be generated for each of the plurality of different pacing settings 2018. In this example, the lowest MPAT may be indicative of the most complete posterior left bundle branch engagement for the cardiac pacing therapy, and thus, the cardiac pacing therapy settings having, or corresponding to, the lowest MPAT may be selected 212 to be used with the cardiac pacing therapy.

Further illustrative systems, methods, and processes for optimizing the cardiac pacing therapy may be described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/934,517 filed on Mar. 23, 2019 entitled “Evaluation of Ventricle from Atrium Pacing Therapy” and U.S. Prov. Pat. App. Ser. No. 62/725,763 filed on Aug. 31, 2018 entitled “Adaptive VFA Cardiac Therapy,” each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

An illustrative ventricle from atrium (VfA) cardiac therapy system is depicted in FIG. 7 that may be configured to be used with, for example, the systems and methods described herein with respect to FIGS. 1-6. Although it is to be understood that the present disclosure may utilize one or both of leadless and leaded implantable medical devices, the illustrative cardiac therapy system of FIG. 7 includes a leadless intracardiac medical device 10 that may be configured for single or dual chamber therapy and implanted in a patient's heart 8. In some embodiments, the device 10 may be configured for single chamber pacing and may, for example, switch between single chamber and multiple chamber pacing (e.g., dual or triple chamber pacing). As used herein, “intracardiac” refers to a device configured to be implanted entirely within a patient's heart, for example, to provide cardiac therapy. The device 10 is shown implanted in the right atrium (RA) of the patient's heart 8 in a target implant region 4. The device 10 may include one or more fixation members 20 that anchor a distal end of the device 10 against the atrial endocardium in a target implant region 4. The target implant region 4 may lie between the Bundle of His 5 and the coronary sinus 3 and may be adjacent, or next to, the tricuspid valve 6. The device 10 may be described as a ventricle-from-atrium device because, for example, the device 10 may perform, or execute, one or both of sensing electrical activity from and providing therapy to one or both ventricles (e.g., right ventricle, left ventricle, or both ventricles, depending on the circumstances) while being generally disposed in the right atrium. In particular, the device 10 may include a tissue-piercing electrode that may be implanted in the basal and/or septal region of the left ventricular myocardium of the patient's heart from the triangle of Koch region of the right atrium through the right atrial endocardium and central fibrous body.

The device 10 may be described as a leadless implantable medical device. As used herein, “leadless” refers to a device being free of a lead extending out of the patient's heart 8. Further, although a leadless device may have a lead, the lead would not extend from outside of the patient's heart to inside of the patient's heart or would not extend from inside of the patient's heart to outside of the patient's heart. Some leadless devices may be introduced through a vein, but once implanted, the device is free of, or may not include, any transvenous lead and may be configured to provide cardiac therapy without using any transvenous lead. Further, a leadless VfA device, in particular, does not use a lead to operably connect to an electrode in the ventricle when a housing of the device is positioned in the atrium. Additionally, a leadless electrode may be coupled to the housing of the medical device without using a lead between the electrode and the housing.

The device 10 may include a dart electrode assembly 12 defining, or having, a straight shaft extending from a distal end region of device 10. The dart electrode assembly 12 may be placed, or at least configured to be placed, through the atrial myocardium and the central fibrous body and into the ventricular myocardium 14, or along the ventricular septum, without perforating entirely through the ventricular endocardial or epicardial surfaces. The dart electrode assembly 12 may carry, or include, an electrode at a distal end region of the shaft such that the electrode may be positioned within the ventricular myocardium for sensing ventricular signals and delivering ventricular pacing pulses (e.g., to depolarize the left ventricle and/or right ventricle to initiate a contraction of the left ventricle and/or right ventricle). In some examples, the electrode at the distal end region of the shaft is a cathode electrode provided for use in a bipolar electrode pair for pacing and sensing. While the implant region 4 as illustrated may enable one or more electrodes of the dart electrode assembly 12 to be positioned in the ventricular myocardium, it is recognized that a device having the aspects disclosed herein may be implanted at other locations for multiple chamber pacing (e.g., dual or triple chamber pacing), single chamber pacing with multiple chamber sensing, single chamber pacing and/or sensing, or other clinical therapy and applications as appropriate.

It is to be understood that although device 10 is described herein as including a single dart electrode assembly, the device 10 may include more than one dart electrode assembly placed, or configured to be placed, through the atrial myocardium and the central fibrous body, and into the ventricular myocardium 14, or along the ventricular septum, without perforating entirely through the ventricular endocardial or epicardial surfaces. Additionally, each dart electrode assembly may carry, or include, more than a single electrode at the distal end region, or along other regions (e.g., proximal or central regions), of the shaft.

The cardiac therapy system 2 may also include a separate medical device 50 (depicted diagrammatically in FIG. 7), which may be positioned outside the patient's heart 8 (e.g., subcutaneously) and may be operably coupled to the patient's heart 8 to deliver cardiac therapy thereto. In one example, separate medical device 50 may be an extravascular ICD. In some embodiments, an extravascular ICD may include a defibrillation lead including, or carrying, a defibrillation electrode. A therapy vector may exist between the defibrillation electrode on the defibrillation lead and a housing electrode of the ICD. Further, one or more electrodes of the ICD may also be used for sensing electrical signals related to the patient's heart 8. The ICD may be configured to deliver shock therapy including one or more defibrillation or cardioversion shocks. For example, if an arrhythmia is sensed, the ICD may send a pulse via the electrical lead wires to shock the heart and restore its normal rhythm. In some examples, the ICD may deliver shock therapy without placing electrical lead wires within the heart or attaching electrical wires directly to the heart (subcutaneous ICDs). Examples of extravascular, subcutaneous ICDs that may be used with the system 2 described herein may be described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,278,229 (Reinke et al.), issued 8 Mar. 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In the case of shock therapy (e.g., defibrillation shocks provided by the defibrillation electrode of the defibrillation lead), the separate medical device 50 (e.g., extravascular ICD) may include a control circuit that uses a therapy delivery circuit to generate defibrillation shocks having any of a number of waveform properties, including leading-edge voltage, tilt, delivered energy, pulse phases, and the like. The therapy delivery circuit may, for instance, generate monophasic, biphasic, or multiphasic waveforms. Additionally, the therapy delivery circuit may generate defibrillation waveforms having different amounts of energy. For example, the therapy delivery circuit may generate defibrillation waveforms that deliver a total of between approximately 60-80 Joules (J) of energy for subcutaneous defibrillation.

The separate medical device 50 may further include a sensing circuit. The sensing circuit may be configured to obtain electrical signals sensed via one or more combinations of electrodes and to process the obtained signals. The components of the sensing circuit may include analog components, digital components, or a combination thereof. The sensing circuit may, for example, include one or more sense amplifiers, filters, rectifiers, threshold detectors, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), or the like. The sensing circuit may convert the sensed signals to digital form and provide the digital signals to the control circuit for processing and/or analysis. For example, the sensing circuit may amplify signals from sensing electrodes and convert the amplified signals to multi-bit digital signals by an ADC, and then provide the digital signals to the control circuit. In one or more embodiments, the sensing circuit may also compare processed signals to a threshold to detect the existence of atrial or ventricular depolarizations (e.g., P- or R-waves) and indicate the existence of the atrial depolarization (e.g., P-waves) or ventricular depolarizations (e.g., R-waves) to the control circuit.

The device 10 and the separate medical device 50 may cooperate to provide cardiac therapy to the patient's heart 8. For example, the device 10 and the separate medical device 50 may be used to detect tachycardia, monitor tachycardia, and/or provide tachycardia-related therapy. For example, the device 10 may communicate with the separate medical device 50 wirelessly to trigger shock therapy using the separate medical device 50. As used herein, “wirelessly” refers to an operative coupling or connection without using a metal conductor between the device 10 and the separate medical device 50. In one example, wireless communication may use a distinctive, signaling, or triggering electrical-pulse provided by the device 10 that conducts through the patient's tissue and is detectable by the separate medical device 50. In another example, wireless communication may use a communication interface (e.g., an antenna) of the device 10 to provide electromagnetic radiation that propagates through patient's tissue and is detectable, for example, using a communication interface (e.g., an antenna) of the separate medical device 50.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged conceptual diagram of the intracardiac medical device 10 of FIG. 7 and anatomical structures of the patient's heart 8. In particular, the device 10 is configured to sense cardiac signals and/or deliver pacing therapy. The intracardiac device 10 may include a housing 30. The housing 30 may define a hermetically-sealed internal cavity in which internal components of the device 10 reside, such as a sensing circuit, therapy delivery circuit, control circuit, memory, telemetry circuit, other optional sensors, and a power source as generally described in conjunction with FIG. 10. The housing 30 may include (e.g., be formed of or from) an electrically conductive material such as, e.g., titanium or titanium alloy, stainless steel, MP35N (a non-magnetic nickel-cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy), platinum alloy, or other bio-compatible metal or metal alloy. In other examples, the housing 30 may include (e.g., be formed of or from) a non-conductive material including ceramic, glass, sapphire, silicone, polyurethane, epoxy, acetyl co-polymer plastics, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), a liquid crystal polymer, or other biocompatible polymer.

In at least one embodiment, the housing 30 may be described as extending between a distal end region 32 and a proximal end region 34 and as defining a generally-cylindrical shape, e.g., to facilitate catheter delivery. In other embodiments, the housing 30 may be prismatic or any other shape to perform the functionality and utility described herein. The housing 30 may include a delivery tool interface member 26, e.g., defined, or positioned, at the proximal end region 34, for engaging with a delivery tool during implantation of the device 10.

All or a portion of the housing 30 may function as a sensing and/or pacing electrode during cardiac therapy. In the example shown, the housing 30 includes a proximal housing-based electrode 24 that circumscribes a proximal portion (e.g., closer to the proximal end region 34 than the distal end region 32) of the housing 30. When the housing 30 is (e.g., defines, formed from, etc.) an electrically-conductive material, such as a titanium alloy or other examples listed above, portions of the housing 30 may be electrically insulated by a non-conductive material, such as a coating of parylene, polyurethane, silicone, epoxy, or other biocompatible polymer, leaving one or more discrete areas of conductive material exposed to form, or define, the proximal housing-based electrode 24. When the housing 30 is (e.g., defines, formed from, etc.) a non-conductive material, such as a ceramic, glass or polymer material, an electrically-conductive coating or layer, such as a titanium, platinum, stainless steel, or alloys thereof, may be applied to one or more discrete areas of the housing 30 to form, or define, the proximal housing-based electrode 24. In other examples, the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be a component, such as a ring electrode, that is mounted or assembled onto the housing 30. The proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be electrically coupled to internal circuitry of the device 10, e.g., via the electrically-conductive housing 30 or an electrical conductor when the housing 30 is a non-conductive material.

In the example shown, the proximal housing-based electrode 24 is located nearer to the housing proximal end region 34 than the housing distal end region 32, and therefore, may be referred to as a proximal housing-based electrode 24. In other examples, however, the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be located at other positions along the housing 30, e.g., more distal relative to the position shown.

At the distal end region 32, the device 10 may include a distal fixation and electrode assembly 36, which may include one or more fixation members 20 and one or more dart electrode assemblies 12 of equal or unequal length. In one such example as shown, a single dart electrode assembly 12 includes a shaft 40 extending distally away from the housing distal end region 32 and one or more electrode elements, such as a tip electrode 42 at or near the free, distal end region of the shaft 40. The tip electrode 42 may have a conical or hemi-spherical distal tip with a relatively narrow tip-diameter (e.g., less than about 1 millimeter (mm)) for penetrating into and through tissue layers without using a sharpened tip or needle-like tip having sharpened or beveled edges.

The dart electrode assembly 12 may be configured to pierce through one or more tissue layers to position the tip electrode 42 within a desired tissue layer such as, e.g., the ventricular myocardium. As such, the height 47, or length, of the shaft 40 may correspond to the expected pacing site depth, and the shaft 40 may have a relatively-high compressive strength along its longitudinal axis to resist bending in a lateral or radial direction when pressed against and into the implant region 4. If a second dart electrode assembly 12 is employed, its length may be unequal to the expected pacing site depth and may be configured to act as an indifferent electrode for delivering of pacing energy to and/or sensing signals from the tissue. In one embodiment, a longitudinal axial force may be applied against the tip electrode 42, e.g., by applying longitudinal pushing force to the proximal end 34 of the housing 30, to advance the dart electrode assembly 12 into the tissue within the target implant region.

The shaft 40 may be described as longitudinally non-compressive and/or elastically deformable in lateral or radial directions when subjected to lateral or radial forces to allow temporary flexing, e.g., with tissue motion, but may return to its normally straight position when lateral forces diminish. Thus, the dart electrode assembly 12 including the shaft 40 may be described as being resilient. When the shaft 40 is not exposed to any external force, or to only a force along its longitudinal central axis, the shaft 40 may retain a straight, linear position as shown.

In other words, the shaft 40 of the dart electrode assembly 12 may be a normally straight member and may be rigid. In other embodiments, the shaft 40 may be described as being relatively stiff but still possessing limited flexibility in lateral directions. Further, the shaft 40 may be non-rigid to allow some lateral flexing with heart motion. However, in a relaxed state, when not subjected to any external forces, the shaft 40 may maintain a straight position as shown to hold the tip electrode 42 spaced apart from the housing distal end region 32 at least by a height, or length, 47 of the shaft 40.

The one or more fixation members 20 may be described as one or more “tines” having a normally curved position. The tines may be held in a distally extended position within a delivery tool. The distal tips of tines may penetrate the heart tissue to a limited depth before elastically, or resiliently, curving back proximally into the normally curved position (shown) upon release from the delivery tool. Further, the fixation members 20 may include one or more aspects described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,675,579 (Grubac et al.), issued 13 Jun. 2017, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,119,959 (Rys et al.), issued 1 Sep. 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In some examples, the distal fixation and electrode assembly 36 includes a distal housing-based electrode 22. In the case of using the device 10 as a pacemaker for multiple chamber pacing (e.g., dual or triple chamber pacing) and sensing, the tip electrode 42 may be used as a cathode electrode paired with the proximal housing-based electrode 24 serving as a return anode electrode. Alternatively, the distal housing-based electrode 22 may serve as a return anode electrode paired with tip electrode 42 for sensing ventricular signals and delivering ventricular pacing pulses. In other examples, the distal housing-based electrode 22 may be a cathode electrode for sensing atrial signals and delivering pacing pulses to the atrial myocardium in the target implant region 4. When the distal housing-based electrode 22 serves as an atrial cathode electrode, the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may serve as the return anode paired with the tip electrode 42 for ventricular pacing and sensing and as the return anode paired with the distal housing-based electrode 22 for atrial pacing and sensing.

As shown in this illustration, the target implant region 4 in some pacing applications is along the atrial endocardium 18, generally inferior to the AV node 15 and the His bundle 5. The dart electrode assembly 12 may at least partially define the height 47, or length, of the shaft 40 for penetrating through the atrial endocardium 18 in the target implant region 4, through the central fibrous body 16, and into the ventricular myocardium 14 without perforating through the ventricular endocardial surface 17. When the height 47, or length, of the dart electrode assembly 12 is fully advanced into the target implant region 4, the tip electrode 42 may rest within the ventricular myocardium 14, and the distal housing-based electrode 22 may be positioned in intimate contact with or close proximity to the atrial endocardium 18. The dart electrode assembly 12 may have a total combined height 47, or length, of tip electrode 42 and shaft 40 from about 3 mm to about 8 mm in various examples. The diameter of the shaft 40 may be less than about 2 mm, and may be about 1 mm or less, or even about 0.6 mm or less.

FIG. 9 is a two-dimensional (2D) ventricular map 300 of a patient's heart (e.g., a top-down view) showing the left ventricle 320 in a standard 17 segment view and the right ventricle 322. The map 300 defines, or includes, a plurality of areas 326 corresponding to different regions of a human heart. As illustrated, the areas 326 are numerically labeled 1-17 (which, e.g., correspond to a standard 17 segment model of a human heart, correspond to 17 segments of the left ventricle of a human heart, etc.). Areas 326 of the map 300 may include basal anterior area 1, basal anteroseptal area 2, basal inferoseptal area 3, basal inferior area 4, basal inferolateral area 5, basal anterolateral area 6, mid-anterior area 7, mid-anteroseptal area 8, mid-inferoseptal area 9, mid-inferior area 10, mid-inferolateral area 11, mid-anterolateral area 12, apical anterior area 13, apical septal area 14, apical inferior area 15, apical lateral area 16, and apex area 17. The inferoseptal and anteroseptal areas of the right ventricle 322 are also illustrated, as well as the right bunch branch (RBB) 25 and left bundle branch (LBB) 27.

In some embodiments, any of the tissue-piercing electrodes of the present disclosure may be implanted in the basal and/or septal region of the left ventricular myocardium of the patient's heart. In particular, the tissue-piercing electrode may be implanted from the triangle of Koch region of the right atrium through the right atrial endocardium and central fibrous body. Once implanted, the tissue-piercing electrode may be positioned in the target implant region 4 (FIGS. 7-8), such as the basal and/or septal region of the left ventricular myocardium. With reference to map 300, the basal region includes one or more of the basal anterior area 1, basal anteroseptal area 2, basal inferoseptal area 3, basal inferior area 4, mid-anterior area 7, mid-anteroseptal area 8, mid-inferoseptal area 9, and mid-inferior area 10. With reference to map 300, the septal region includes one or more of the basal anteroseptal area 2, basal anteroseptal area 3, mid-anteroseptal area 8, mid-inferoseptal area 9, and apical septal area 14.

In some embodiments, the tissue-piercing electrode may be positioned in the basal septal region of the left ventricular myocardium when implanted. The basal septal region may include one or more of the basal anteroseptal area 2, basal inferoseptal area 3, mid-anteroseptal area 8, and mid-inferoseptal area 9.

In some embodiments, the tissue-piercing electrode may be positioned in the high inferior/posterior basal septal region of the left ventricular myocardium when implanted. The high inferior/posterior basal septal region of the left ventricular myocardium may include a portion of one or more of the basal inferoseptal area 3 and mid-inferoseptal area 9 (e.g., the basal inferoseptal area only, the mid-inferoseptal area only, or both the basal inferoseptal area and the mid-inferoseptal area). For example, the high inferior/posterior basal septal region may include region 324 illustrated generally as a dashed-line boundary. As shown, the dashed line boundary represents an approximation of where the high inferior/posterior basal septal region is located, which may take a somewhat different shape or size depending on the particular application.

A block diagram of circuitry is depicted in FIG. 10 that may be enclosed within the housings 30 of the device 10 to provide the functions of sensing cardiac signals, determining capture, and/or delivering pacing therapy according to one example or within the housings of any other medical devices described herein. The separate medical device 50 as shown in FIG. 7 may include some or all the same components, which may be configured in a similar manner. The electronic circuitry enclosed within the housing 30 may include software, firmware, and hardware that cooperatively monitor atrial and ventricular electrical cardiac signals, determine whether cardiac system capture has occurred, determine when a cardiac therapy is necessary, and/or deliver electrical pulses to the patient's heart according to programmed therapy mode and pulse control parameters. The electronic circuitry may include a control circuit 80 (e.g., including processing circuitry), a memory 82, a therapy delivery circuit 84, a sensing circuit 86, and/or a telemetry circuit 88. In some examples, the device 10 includes one or more sensors 90 for producing signals that are correlated to one or more physiological functions, states, or conditions of the patient. For example, the sensor(s) 90 may include a patient activity sensor, for use in determining a need for pacing therapy and/or controlling a pacing rate. In other words, the device 10 may include other sensors 90 for sensing signals from the patient for use in determining whether to deliver and/or controlling electrical stimulation therapies delivered by the therapy delivery circuit 84.

The power source 98 may provide power to the circuitry of the device 10 including each of the components 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90 as needed. The power source 98 may include one or more energy storage devices, such as one or more rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries. The connections (not shown) between the power source 98 and each of the components 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 90 may be understood from the general block diagram illustrated to one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, the power source 98 may be coupled to one or more charging circuits included in the therapy delivery circuit 84 for providing the power used to charge holding capacitors included in the therapy delivery circuit 84 that are discharged at appropriate times under the control of the control circuit 80 for delivering pacing pulses, e.g., according to a dual chamber pacing mode such as DDI(R). The power source 98 may also be coupled to components of the sensing circuit 86, such as sense amplifiers, analog-to-digital converters, switching circuitry, etc., sensors 90, the telemetry circuit 88, and the memory 82 to provide power to the various circuits.

The functional blocks shown in FIG. 10 represent functionality included in the device 10 and may include any discrete and/or integrated electronic circuit components that implement analog, and/or digital circuits capable of producing the functions attributed to the medical device 10 described herein. The various components may include processing circuitry, such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group), and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, state machine, or other suitable components or combinations of components that provide the described functionality. The particular form of software, hardware, and/or firmware employed to implement the functionality disclosed herein will be determined primarily by the particular system architecture employed in the medical device and by the particular detection and therapy delivery methodologies employed by the medical device.

The memory 82 may include any volatile, non-volatile, magnetic, or electrical non-transitory computer readable storage media, such as random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), electrically-erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, or any other memory device. Furthermore, the memory 82 may include a non-transitory computer readable media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processing circuits, cause the control circuit 80 and/or other processing circuitry to determine posterior left bundle branch engagement and/or perform a single, dual, or triple chamber calibrated pacing therapy (e.g., single or multiple chamber pacing), or other cardiac therapy functions (e.g., sensing or delivering therapy), attributed to the device 10. The non-transitory computer-readable media storing the instructions may include any of the media listed above.

The control circuit 80 may communicate, e.g., via a data bus, with the therapy delivery circuit 84 and the sensing circuit 86 for sensing cardiac electrical signals and controlling delivery of cardiac electrical stimulation therapies in response to sensed cardiac events, e.g., P-waves and R-waves, or the absence thereof. The tip electrode 42, the distal housing-based electrode 22, and the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be electrically coupled to the therapy delivery circuit 84 for delivering electrical stimulation pulses to the patient's heart and to the sensing circuit 86 and for sensing cardiac electrical signals.

The sensing circuit 86 may include an atrial (A) sensing channel 87 and a ventricular (V) sensing channel 89. The distal housing-based electrode 22 and the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be coupled to the atrial sensing channel 87 for sensing atrial signals, e.g., P-waves attendant to the depolarization of the atrial myocardium. In examples that include two or more selectable distal housing-based electrodes, the sensing circuit 86 may include switching circuitry for selectively coupling one or more of the available distal housing-based electrodes to cardiac event detection circuitry included in the atrial sensing channel 87. Switching circuitry may include a switch array, switch matrix, multiplexer, or any other type of switching device suitable to selectively couple components of the sensing circuit 86 to selected electrodes. The tip electrode 42 and the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be coupled to the ventricular sensing channel 89 for sensing ventricular signals, e.g., R-waves attendant to the depolarization of the ventricular myocardium.

Each of the atrial sensing channel 87 and the ventricular sensing channel 89 may include cardiac event detection circuitry for detecting P-waves and R-waves, respectively, from the cardiac electrical signals received by the respective sensing channels. The cardiac event detection circuitry included in each of the channels 87 and 89 may be configured to amplify, filter, digitize, and rectify the cardiac electrical signal received from the selected electrodes to improve the signal quality for detecting cardiac electrical events. The cardiac event detection circuitry within each channel 87 and 89 may include one or more sense amplifiers, filters, rectifiers, threshold detectors, comparators, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), timers, or other analog or digital components. A cardiac event sensing threshold, e.g., a P-wave sensing threshold and an R-wave sensing threshold, may be automatically adjusted by each respective sensing channel 87 and 89 under the control of the control circuit 80, e.g., based on timing intervals and sensing threshold values determined by the control circuit 80, stored in the memory 82, and/or controlled by hardware, firmware, and/or software of the control circuit 80 and/or the sensing circuit 86.

Upon detecting a cardiac electrical event based on a sensing threshold crossing, the sensing circuit 86 may produce a sensed event signal that is passed to the control circuit 80. For example, the atrial sensing channel 87 may produce a P-wave sensed event signal in response to a P-wave sensing threshold crossing. The ventricular sensing channel 89 may produce an R-wave sensed event signal in response to an R-wave sensing threshold crossing. The sensed event signals may be used by the control circuit 80 for setting pacing escape interval timers that control the basic time intervals used for scheduling cardiac pacing pulses. A sensed event signal may trigger or inhibit a pacing pulse depending on the particular programmed pacing mode. For example, a P-wave sensed event signal received from the atrial sensing channel 87 may cause the control circuit 80 to inhibit a scheduled atrial pacing pulse and schedule a ventricular pacing pulse at a programmed atrioventricular (A-V) pacing interval. If an R-wave is sensed before the A-V pacing interval expires, the ventricular pacing pulse may be inhibited. If the A-V pacing interval expires before the control circuit 80 receives an R-wave sensed event signal from the ventricular sensing channel 89, the control circuit 80 may use the therapy delivery circuit 84 to deliver the scheduled ventricular pacing pulse synchronized to the sensed P-wave.

In some examples, the device 10 may be configured to deliver a variety of pacing therapies including bradycardia pacing, cardiac resynchronization therapy, post-shock pacing, and/or tachycardia-related therapy, such as ATP, among others. For example, the device 10 may be configured to detect non-sinus tachycardia and deliver ATP. The control circuit 80 may determine cardiac event time intervals, e.g., P-P intervals between consecutive P-wave sensed event signals received from the atrial sensing channel 87, R-R intervals between consecutive R-wave sensed event signals received from the ventricular sensing channel 89, and P-R and/or R-P intervals received between P-wave sensed event signals and R-wave sensed event signals. These intervals may be compared to tachycardia detection intervals for detecting non-sinus tachycardia. Tachycardia may be detected in a given heart chamber based on a threshold number of tachycardia detection intervals being detected.

The therapy delivery circuit 84 may include atrial pacing circuit 83 and ventricular pacing circuit 85. Each pacing circuit 83, 85 may include charging circuitry, one or more charge storage devices such as one or more low voltage holding capacitors, an output capacitor, and/or switching circuitry that controls when the holding capacitor(s) are charged and discharged across the output capacitor to deliver a pacing pulse to the pacing electrode vector coupled to respective pacing circuits 83, 85. The tip electrode 42 and the proximal housing-based electrode 24 may be coupled to the ventricular pacing circuit 85 as a bipolar cathode and anode pair for delivering ventricular pacing pulses, e.g., upon expiration of an A-V or V-V pacing interval set by the control circuit 80 for providing atrial-synchronized ventricular pacing and a basic lower ventricular pacing rate.

The atrial pacing circuit 83 may be coupled to the distal housing-based electrode 22 and the proximal housing-based electrode 24 to deliver atrial pacing pulses. The control circuit 80 may set one or more atrial pacing intervals according to a programmed lower pacing rate or a temporary lower rate set according to a rate-responsive sensor indicated pacing rate. Atrial pacing circuit may be controlled to deliver an atrial pacing pulse if the atrial pacing interval expires before a P-wave sensed event signal is received from the atrial sensing channel 87. The control circuit 80 starts an A-V pacing interval in response to a delivered atrial pacing pulse to provide synchronized multiple chamber pacing (e.g., dual or triple chamber pacing).

Charging of a holding capacitor of the atrial or ventricular pacing circuit 83, 85 to a programmed pacing voltage amplitude and discharging of the capacitor for a programmed pacing pulse width may be performed by the therapy delivery circuit 84 according to control signals received from the control circuit 80. For example, a pace timing circuit included in the control circuit 80 may include programmable digital counters set by a microprocessor of the control circuit 80 for controlling the basic pacing time intervals associated with various single chamber or multiple chamber pacing (e.g., dual or triple chamber pacing) modes or anti-tachycardia pacing sequences. The microprocessor of the control circuit 80 may also set the amplitude, pulse width, polarity, or other characteristics of the cardiac pacing pulses, which may be based on programmed values stored in the memory 82.

Control parameters utilized by the control circuit 80 for sensing cardiac events and controlling pacing therapy delivery may be programmed into the memory 82 via the telemetry circuit 88, which may also be described as a communication interface. The telemetry circuit 88 includes a transceiver and antenna for communicating with an external device, such as a programmer or home monitor, using radio frequency communication or other communication protocols. The control circuit 80 may use the telemetry circuit 88 to receive downlink telemetry from and send uplink telemetry to the external device. In some cases, the telemetry circuit 88 may be used to transmit and receive communication signals to/from another medical device implanted in the patient.

The techniques described in this disclosure, including those attributed to the IMD 10, device 50, the computing apparatus 140, and the computing device 160 and/or various constituent components, may be implemented, at least in part, in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. For example, various aspects of the techniques may be implemented within one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuitry, as well as any combinations of such components, embodied in programmers, such as physician or patient programmers, stimulators, image processing devices, or other devices. The term “module,” “processor,” or “processing circuitry” may generally refer to any of the foregoing logic circuitry, alone or in combination with other logic circuitry, or any other equivalent circuitry.

Such hardware, software, and/or firmware may be implemented within the same device or within separate devices to support the various operations and functions described in this disclosure. In addition, any of the described units, modules, or components may be implemented together or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. Depiction of different features as modules or units is intended to highlight different functional aspects and does not necessarily imply that such modules or units must be realized by separate hardware or software components. Rather, functionality associated with one or more modules or units may be performed by separate hardware or software components or integrated within common or separate hardware or software components.

When implemented in software, the functionality ascribed to the systems, devices and techniques described in this disclosure may be embodied as instructions on a computer-readable medium such as RAM, ROM, NVRAM, EEPROM, FLASH memory, magnetic data storage media, optical data storage media, or the like. The instructions may be executed by processing circuitry and/or one or more processors to support one or more aspects of the functionality described in this disclosure.

All references and publications cited herein are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes, except to the extent any aspect incorporated directly contradicts this disclosure.

All scientific and technical terms used herein have meanings commonly used in the art unless otherwise specified. The definitions provided herein are to facilitate understanding of certain terms used frequently herein and are not meant to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing feature sizes, amounts, and physical properties used in the specification and claims may be understood as being modified either by the term “exactly” or “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the foregoing specification and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by those skilled in the art utilizing the teachings disclosed herein or, for example, within typical ranges of experimental error.

The recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers subsumed within that range (e.g. 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, and 5) and any range within that range. Herein, the terms “up to” or “no greater than” a number (e.g., up to 50) includes the number (e.g., 50), and the term “no less than” a number (e.g., no less than 5) includes the number (e.g., 5).

The terms “coupled” or “connected” refer to elements being attached to each other either directly (in direct contact with each other) or indirectly (having one or more elements between and attaching the two elements). Either term may be modified by “operatively” and “operably,” which may be used interchangeably, to describe that the coupling or connection is configured to allow the components to interact to carry out at least some functionality (for example, a first medical device may be operatively coupled to another medical device to transmit information in the form of data or to receive data therefrom).

Terms related to orientation, such as “top,” “bottom,” “side,” and “end,” are used to describe relative positions of components and are not meant to limit the orientation of the embodiments contemplated. For example, an embodiment described as having a “top” and “bottom” also encompasses embodiments thereof rotated in various directions unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

Reference to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “certain embodiments,” or “some embodiments,” etc., means that a particular feature, configuration, composition, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Thus, the appearances of such phrases in various places throughout are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment of the disclosure. Furthermore, the particular features, configurations, compositions, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” encompass embodiments having plural referents, unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. As used in this specification and the appended claims, the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

As used herein, “have,” “having,” “include,” “including,” “comprise,” “comprising” or the like are used in their open-ended sense, and generally mean “including, but not limited to.” It will be understood that “consisting essentially of” “consisting of” and the like are subsumed in “comprising,” and the like.

The term “and/or” means one or all the listed elements or a combination of at least two of the listed elements. The phrases “at least one of” “comprises at least one of” and “one or more of” followed by a list refers to any one of the items in the list and any combination of two or more items in the list.

Illustrative Embodiments

Embodiment 1: A system comprising:

electrode apparatus comprising a plurality of posterior electrodes to monitor electrical activity from a patient's posterior; and

computing apparatus comprising processing circuitry and coupled to the electrode apparatus and configured to:

-   -   monitor electrical activity of the patient's heart using the         plurality of posterior electrodes during delivery of cardiac         therapy,     -   generate electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) based on the         monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac         therapy, and     -   determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement         based on the generated EHI.

Embodiment 2: A method comprising:

monitoring electrical activity of the patient's heart using a plurality of posterior electrodes from a patient's posterior during delivery of cardiac therapy;

generating electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy; and

determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI.

Embodiment 3: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 1-2, wherein generating EHI based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy comprises generating a mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes.

Embodiment 4: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 1-3, wherein determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI comprises determining that left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is less than or equal to 30 milliseconds, intermediately-engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is greater than 30 milliseconds and less than 50 milliseconds, or insufficiently-engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds.

Embodiment 5: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 1-4, wherein generating EHI based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy comprises generating a percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes that is less than an early-activation threshold.

Embodiment 6: The system or method as set forth in embodiment 5, wherein the early-activation threshold is 35 milliseconds.

Embodiment 7: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 5-6, wherein determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI comprises determining that left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is greater than 75%, intermediately-engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 75%, or insufficiently-engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is less than 50%.

Embodiment 8: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 1-7, wherein the cardiac therapy is ventricle-from-atrium (VfA) pacing therapy.

Embodiment 9: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 1-8, wherein the computing apparatus is further configured to execute or the method further comprises adjusting the cardiac therapy to increase the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement.

Embodiment 10: A system comprising:

electrode apparatus comprising a plurality of posterior electrodes to monitor electrical activity from a patient's posterior; and

computing apparatus comprising processing circuitry and coupled to the electrode apparatus and configured to:

-   -   monitor electrical activity of the patient's heart using the         plurality of posterior electrodes during delivery of cardiac         pacing therapy,     -   determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement         based on the monitored electrical activity, and     -   adjust one or more pacing settings of the cardiac pacing therapy         based on the determined degree of left bunch branch engagement.

Embodiment 11: The system as set forth in embodiment 10, wherein the cardiac pacing therapy comprises one or more of ventricle-from-atrium (VfA) pacing therapy, His bundle pacing therapy, and intraseptal left ventricular endocardial pacing.

Embodiment 12: The system or method as set forth in one of embodiments 1-11, wherein the plurality of posterior electrodes comprises a plurality of surface electrodes positioned in an array to be located proximate skin of a torso of the patient's posterior.

This disclosure has been provided with reference to illustrative embodiments and is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. As described previously, one skilled in the art will recognize that other various illustrative applications may use the techniques as described herein to take advantage of the beneficial characteristics of the apparatus and methods described herein. Various modifications of the illustrative embodiments, as well as additional embodiments of the disclosure, will be apparent upon reference to this description. 

1. A system comprising: electrode apparatus comprising a plurality of posterior electrodes to monitor electrical activity from a patient's posterior; and computing apparatus comprising processing circuitry and coupled to the electrode apparatus and configured to: monitor electrical activity of the patient's heart using the plurality of posterior electrodes during delivery of cardiac therapy, generate electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy, and determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein generating EHI based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy comprises generating a mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI comprises determining that left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is less than or equal to 30 milliseconds, intermediately-engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is greater than 30 milliseconds and less than 50 milliseconds, or insufficiently-engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein generating EHI based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy comprises generating a percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes that is less than an early-activation threshold.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the early-activation threshold is 35 milliseconds.
 6. The system of claim 3, wherein determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI comprises determining that left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is greater than 75%, intermediately-engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 75%, or insufficiently-engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is less than 50%.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the cardiac therapy is ventricle-from-atrium (VfA) pacing therapy.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the computing apparatus is further configured to adjust the cardiac therapy to increase the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of posterior electrodes comprises a plurality of surface electrodes positioned in an array to be located proximate skin of a torso of the patient's posterior.
 10. A method comprising: monitoring electrical activity of the patient's heart using a plurality of posterior electrodes from a patient's posterior during delivery of cardiac therapy; generating electrical heterogeneity information (EHI) based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy; and determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein generating EHI based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy comprises generating a mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI comprises determining that left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is less than or equal to 30 milliseconds, intermediately-engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is greater than 30 milliseconds and less than 50 milliseconds, or insufficiently-engaged if the mean of surrogate posterior electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes is greater than or equal to 50 milliseconds.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein generating EHI based on the monitored electrical activity during delivery of cardiac therapy comprises generating a percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times monitored by the posterior electrodes that is less than an early-activation threshold.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the early-activation threshold is 35 milliseconds.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein determining a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the generated EHI comprises determining that left bundle branch is sufficiently engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is greater than 75%, intermediately-engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is greater than or equal to 50% and less than or equal to 75%, or insufficiently-engaged if the percentage of surrogate early-activation electrical activation times is less than 50%.
 16. The method of claim 10, wherein the cardiac therapy is ventricle-from-atrium (VfA) pacing therapy.
 17. The method of claim 10, the method further comprising adjusting the cardiac therapy to increase the degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of posterior electrodes comprises a plurality of surface electrodes positioned in an array to be located proximate skin of a torso of the patient's posterior.
 19. A system comprising: electrode apparatus comprising a plurality of posterior electrodes to monitor electrical activity from a patient's posterior; and computing apparatus comprising processing circuitry and coupled to the electrode apparatus and configured to: monitor electrical activity of the patient's heart using the plurality of posterior electrodes during delivery of cardiac pacing therapy, determine a degree of posterior left bundle branch engagement based on the monitored electrical activity, and adjust one or more pacing settings of the cardiac pacing therapy based on the determined degree of left bunch branch engagement.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the cardiac pacing therapy comprises one or more of ventricle-from-atrium (VfA) pacing therapy, His bundle pacing therapy, and intraseptal left ventricular endocardial pacing.
 21. The system of claim 19, wherein the plurality of posterior electrodes comprises a plurality of surface electrodes positioned in an array to be located proximate skin of a torso of the patient's posterior. 